Scientists / Our Scientists

Patrick Holder

Senior Principal Scientist, Protein Chemistry, Drug Discovery

Postdoc Mentor

"Discovering drugs requires the patience of a gardener—there are a lot of weeds and sometimes seeds don’t sprout; but if you’re tenacious, those sprouts can grow up to nourish the world. We have the tools—let’s get our hands dirty."

Years at Genentech

Awards & Honors

My scientific training includes macromolecular synthesis and bioconjugation in the Chemical Biology Graduate Program at UC Berkeley, and subsequent post-doctoral research in time-resolved spectroscopy of radical transport in enzymes in the chemistry department at MIT. I previously held research scientist positions at Redwood Bioscience (Emeryville, CA) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (Redwood City, CA) where I developed methods for site-specific antibody-drug conjugation.

I moved to the Department of Protein Chemistry in Genentech Research in 2017, and I hold joint appointments with the Department of Research Oncology and the Department of Cell Therapy. Our lab is focused on the design and discovery of the next generation of therapeutics at the interface of protein engineering, protein chemistry, and cell engineering.

Postdoctoral Mentor

Postdocs in our group have the opportunity to craft multidisciplinary projects at the interface of drug discovery, chemical biology, and cell engineering in collaboration with experts from across our research organization. It is a true pleasure to see the vision and enthusiasm of postdoc fellows come to life in the vibrant community of Genentech research.

Featured Publication

Translational PK/PD and the First-in-Human Dose Selection of a PD1/IL15 Targeted Cytokine: An Engineered Recombinant Fusion Protein for Cancer Immunotherapy .

Frontiers in Pharmacology . 2024

Rajbarahan Yadav, Suzanne Schubbert, Patrick G. Holder, Eugene Y Chiang, Nargess Kiabi, Liz Boagert, Irene Leung, Rumana Rashid, Kendra N. Avery, Christine Bonzon, John R. Desjarlais, Shomyseh Sanjabi, Amy Sharma, Michelle Lepherd, Amy Shelton, Pam Chan, Yanqiu Liu, Louis Joslyn, Iraj Hosseini, Eric G. Stefanich, Amrita V. Kamath, Matthew J. Bernett, Vittal Shivva

View Abstract

In general our lab investigates the sequence-structure-function relationship of recombinant protein therapeutics, protein-based delivery vehicles, and engineered protein components of cell therapies. Our specific interests include protein engineering of cytokines, engineered chimeric receptors, site-specific enzymatic bioconjugation, and design of hybrid materials including protein–polymer conjugates and targeted nanoparticles.

University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D. in Chemical Biology – 2008
Columbia University, A.B. in Chemistry – 2003

gRED Incubator Award – 2018
Energy & Environmental Science Gordon Conference Prize – 2012
NIH Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award – 2009-2012
Chemical Biology in the Bay Area Poster Prize – 2008
Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor – 2005
Brian Bent Undergraduate Teaching Award – 2003
William H. Reinmuth Scholarship – 2003
Edward S. Brainard Memorial Class Day Prize – 2003
King’s Crown Leadership Award – 2002
NSF REU Fellowship – 2001

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Patrick Holder

Senior Principal Scientist, Protein Chemistry, Drug Discovery

Featured Publication

Translational PK/PD and the First-in-Human Dose Selection of a PD1/IL15 Targeted Cytokine: An Engineered Recombinant Fusion Protein for Cancer Immunotherapy .